Feasibility studies for Ghana's US$3bn sky train project inconclusive despite US$2m spent - A-G report

The Auditor-General, A-G, has indicated that the government of Ghana has spent a whopping $2 million on the sky train which was originally costed at $3 billion.

The said amount, the A-G said, was executed through the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund’s acquisition of 10 ordinary shares in the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Ai Sky Train Consortium Holdings.

According to the 2021 audit report, despite the money spent, the feasibility studies for the project is still inconclusive.

“The feasibility studies which will better inform the project economics and required approvals from the Cabinet of Ghana and the Parliament of Ghana are still not conclusive,” the Auditor-General said.

The A-G further advised in his report that the management of the Fund should take steps towards “finalisation and approval of the risk management policy by the Governing Board for implementation.”

The report urged management to “continue to monitor the feasibility of the investment in the SPV and make the necessary provisions based on the outcome of the feasibility studies.”

The Sky Train project was first announced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2017, but an assessment of GIIF’s risk management issues reveals that the policy is still in the draft stage.

In 2018, Africa Investor Holdings Limited incorporated a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in Mauritius to establish the Ghana Sky Train Limited to develop the Accra Sky Train Project through a Design, Build, Finance and Operate arrangement.

John-Peter Amewu, Minister for Railways Development, had stated that the Akufo-Addo-led government will not be able to provide Ghanaians sky trains as earlier indicated.

“It is not possible to be done now. I don’t see any sky train being done in the next 3 to 4 years. There is not going to be any sky train in the country. It is not possible,” he said during an interview in November 2021.

The Railways Minister's position contradicted the position Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, the Transport Minister, who had stated during the ministerial vetting process that processes are still ongoing for government to construct the sky train project as a means of transport in the country.

PEN/SARA